Danica Patrick likes to keep her private life as private a possible but she knew that trying to hide the fact that she is dating driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would be too much work, if not impossible.

So Patrick and Stenhouse revealed Friday they are dating, meaning they will wage a battle for the Sprint Cup Series rookie title on the track while also being more than just friends off it.

"I have a boyfriend; his name is Richard," Patrick told The Associated Press in a story published Friday morning.

Patrick, the worldwide star known for her trailblazing racing career and her sexy Super Bowl commercials (she's appeared in 10 of them and will be in two more this year) for sponsor Go Daddy, has typically refrained from talking about her personal life.

In Arizona, it takes at least 60 days from the filing of a divorce for it to be official.

"I think that moving forward into the year, it's a matter of do you say anything at all, or do you just carry on?" she told The AP.

"As opposed to speculation and people making up their own stories or talking amongst themselves or us feeling uncomfortable walking into each other's (motorhomes) moving forward, or around our teams or anything, it's just easier to be up front and get it out of the way then to have any kind of awkward speculation."

Patrick is 30 years old; Stenhouse is 25 and single. They have been friends since they entered Nationwide Series racing as rookies in 2010. Stenhouse is the two-time defending champion of the series. Patrick raced in the series part time in 2010 and 2011 while also competing full time in the IndyCar Series. She ran full time in the Nationwide Series in 2012, finishing 10th in the standings — the highest season-ending finish for a female in any NASCAR national series.

Stenhouse wouldn't confirm the relationship when asked about it Thursday morning during the Sprint Media Tour.

"Yes, we are dating," Stenhouse told The AP. "I don't normally say too much about my private life, always been focused on the track. I didn't want to confirm at media day so that we could keep the focus on the season."

Stenhouse did say Thursday that he wouldn't race his girlfriend any differently than any other competitor. They compete for different teams — Patrick for Stewart-Haas Racing and Stenhouse for Roush Fenway Racing.

"People always say, 'I'll wreck my mom to win,' " Stenhouse said Thursday. "That's a racer's mentality. You go out and you want every spot on the racetrack.